Pulpit clergy gives sermons since they are the least effective, and hence least offensive, method of moral instruction. For their tact and deference in preaching to the confirmed we reward them with a living stipend and a special costume, betokening their harmless seriousness. Had Jesus stuck to sermons he would have lived to a ripe old age. It is when you get into parables and object lessons that things get tense. Telling truth to power is a last resort. Save it for your last words at the gallows. Instilling truth into power is like the jab of the physician's needle: an innoculation, lest we have an outbreak of truth all over and die from it as a culture. We have houses of worship to quarantine the plague. So, I heard a mad preacher preach, his voice resonating impressively from his Tub. Next he began reciting Paradise Lost from heart, then a few lines into it, fell into a drunken slumber. He is a national treasure, harmless enough in his own way. May he sleep in peace. I have serious work to do. I have been hired by a Christian Foundation to develop metrics for judging sermons. Are we as consumers getting good value for our dollar? And the IRS issues are legion. Presumably, if sermons had any real value, the congregation would only be able to deduct the net value of their contribution (donation - minus fair market value of the sermon), unless the sermon is considered an insubstantial benefit.
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I would have a comment, but I'm. . . uh. . . working on my sermon for tomorrow building.
Posted by: AKMA | May 01, 2010 at 03:00 PM
Weird -- I thought I was typing "morning," and my fingers typed "building." That's just creepy.
I hope I haven't done that anywhere in the sermon.
Posted by: AKMA | May 01, 2010 at 03:01 PM
Being an interim employee is quite liberating. It is easier to speak truth to power when you know that the contract has a final date, and you don't have to make nice just to keep the job.
Posted by: Susan Detwiler | May 01, 2010 at 03:29 PM
Best, Susan, to smile pleasantly. Words unspoken are mot easily eaten.
Posted by: Phil Cubeta | May 01, 2010 at 05:27 PM
AKMA,
How does one judge the success of a sermon? What metric of outputs, outcomes, and impact, as the grantwriters say? Could we measure two preachers against each other and determine which is providing the biggest bang for the buck? The # showing up for the altar call? The total receipts at the box office, or collection plate? Receipts as a percentage of the congregant's net worth or income? Growth in attendance? Number of satisfied consumers? Market share versus others preachers? Record of fan mail versus complaints? Or is it like fine arts, requiring an educated eye? Or, is it like coaching in sports where the preacher measures success by the real life performance of his or her charges? Should we ask how much more virtuous is a population before and after the sermon?
Posted by: Phil Cubeta | May 01, 2010 at 05:33 PM
"Padre, that was some sermon, our unit has 47 confirmed kills today."
Posted by: Phil Cubeta | May 01, 2010 at 05:34 PM
But when no one else will tell the board member to focus on the future of the organization and stop bothering the administrative assistant with day to day details, who better to say it -- nicely of course? It's one of the best uses of an interim exec.
Perhaps you could call me the process tutor to boards of trustees, happily whipping them into shape?
Posted by: susan detwiler | May 02, 2010 at 12:01 AM
That sounds like a business plan to me. "No pain no gain."
Posted by: Phil Cubeta | May 02, 2010 at 08:30 AM
Phil, I suppose that I rely on people to keep me honest. I have some friends on whom I think I can count to apply a pretty unsparing eye to what I say.
Posted by: AKMA | May 03, 2010 at 02:52 PM
I am a poor career coach for an actual ordained minister, that is for sure. We would both be sadly lost if you listened to me.
Posted by: phil | May 03, 2010 at 06:13 PM